By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach Little League President Jason Siracusa always believed his Senior All-Star team could advance to the state tournament. And they did not disappoint. The Deerfield Beach Little League Senior All-Stars defeated both Coral Springs and defending state champion North Springs to win the District 10 tournament and advance to Florida State Championship tournament. 

The Little League District 10 Seniors All-Star tournament at the Deerfield Beach Middle School Athletic Complex with North Springs topped Coral Springs, 8-1. Deerfield Beach then withstood numerous distractions lasting four hours, including a lightning delay to pull out a 10-inning, 7-6 win.

With Coral Springs and North Springs squaring off in the loser’s bracket game, Coral Springs got off to a strong start and pulled out a 12-3 win to advance to the final against Deerfield Beach.

After giving up one run in the top of the first inning, Deerfield Beach came out swinging and never looked back. Deerfield Beach put up 12 runs on 13 hits and handily won the game 12-5 sending the very talented squad to the Florida State Senior Division Little League championship in Lakewood Ranch from July 5-7. 

The majority of the Deerfield team played together in the Juniors Division last season where they went 13-1, winning their district championship and finishing second overall in the state of Florida.

At this year’s state tournament, Deerfield Beach overcame a rain delay and defeated St. Cloud, 4-1. The local squad then dropped its next two contests to finish pool play, 1-2.

Deerfield Beach lost to Hancock American, 14-2 and then fell to Land O’Lakes, 3-1. Land O’Lakes went on to win the state title with an 11-3 win over previously unbeaten San Mateo. Against Hancock American, Deerfield fell behind early and couldn’t recover. When Hancock defeated St. Cloud, it finished 2-1 in pool play and ended Deerfield Beach’s hopes of advancing to the championship round.

Deerfield Beach still turned in a solid performance in defeat against the eventual state champion. Deerfield Beach pitcher Brock Buerosse tossed a complete game and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits, but it wasn’t enough as Deerfield’s bats were virtually silent scoring 1 run on just 3 hits.

“This is the second year in a row Deerfield has sent a team to the state tournament,” Siracusa said. “We have made some improvements over last year’s (team) but left our core intact.

“But the competition at the state level is pretty fierce,” he added. “As one of the younger teams in the tournament, Deerfield held up against teams that were comprised of 16-year-old high school varsity players. Our team was made up of 16 players. Everyone had a role and when called upon they performed the way we expected. I’m proud of every single one of them.”

By Gary Curreri

The annual tradition of face painting, hot dogs and various contests, including a home run derby helped kickoff opening day for the Deerfield Beach Little League on Saturday. 

“We’ve been in this fine city for 62 years,” gushed Deerfield Beach Little League President Jason Siracusa. “This is our second season with a new board of directors and we are looking forward to an even better year this season.”

Siracusa said the difference between last year and this year is that they are coming off a championship season. He would know firsthand as last season, Siracusa coached the Junior Division team to the state finals where they finished runner-up.

“Our league has grown since last year and our registrations are up,” said Siracusa, who said there are now 20 teams in the program. “Our sponsorships are up and we have a lot of new families, especially in the younger divisions which is really the future of our league. 

There are approximately 250 players in the league, from ages 4 to 16, Siracusa said opening day was a success. There was a tug of war between coaches and players, a cornhole competition, home run derby, fast pitch and a “triathlon” which consisted of hitting, throwing and running for the younger age groups.

“It was a great day,” Siracusa said. “We had a couple of more events. “The mayor and a couple of city commissioners were here and this was really about bringing everybody together for one time without any baseball, without any games going on. It just gave everybody a chance to get to know each other.

“We had our competitions, a BBQ and then off we go, the season starts,” Siracusa added. “This year was a lot easier than last year. We’ve embraced technology. We built a good foundation last season and we are more streamlined this season, financially and structurally. Building on that, we did a lot of online registrations. We have apps for the managers to help keep track of their teams to communicate with their teams and it makes it a better experience for everybody.”

 Siracusa said the top goals for the program this season is more championships, competitive baseball through both the city’s games and interleague play with neighboring communities in both the junior and 50/70 divisions. The league will consist of T-Ball, Coach-Pitch, Majors, 50/70, Junior and the Seniors, which will begin play in May after the high school season. Siracusa said running the program takes a lot of work and he credited the effort of the volunteers for keeping them on track.

“We didn’t get in all of our uniforms until yesterday,” Siracusa said. “We changed our uniforms this year too. The uniforms are brighter and they seem to be a bit more fun. We have the kid’s names on the back and we have Deerfield Beach in large letters on the front so everywhere we go, we are representing our city. We wanted to make sure we put out a good vibe from our city. 

Angel Davober, 9, of Pompano Beach, a Cresthaven School third grader, said he has played the sport since he was 4.  

“It’s fun and cool because you get to play a lot of different positions,” said Davober, who plays third base, second base and outfield. “I like playing third base the most. Today was awesome because you got to do a lot of different things.”

Deerfield Beach’s Neile Thomas, 14, of Deerfield Beach, has played in the league since he was 6. 

“There is a lot of good stuff to like about the league,” said Thomas, a Pompano Beach High School freshman, “It is very family oriented. The coaches put their players’ safety before winning, but we win too.”

Thomas was a member of the state runner-up Junior Division team a season ago.

“It’s pretty cool to get your name on a banner because you can come back in a couple of years and people you know you can say, ‘I was on that team,’” Thomas said. “On a scale from 1 to 10, that was like an 11. Going to a state tournament was like one of the coolest things I have ever done. Hopefully, this year we will go to states again and win it this year.”

By Rachel Galvin

From Sept. 28 to 30, the Pompano Beach Senior High School Class of 1968 held its 50th reunion, including a school spirit night ice breaker and dinner dance with music from 1965 to 1968. Mr. & Mrs. 50th Reunion were recognized – George Gardner and Sue (Colton) Franklin, said Cherryl Cook, one of the organizers of the event. Some of those attending the reunion also made a Sunday trip to the Hillsboro Lighthouse, leaving their home base of the Pompano Beach Marriott and heading by trolley over to see the landmark and take a tour happily provided by Ben, who portrays the Barefoot Mailman.

Visitors could also climb the 175 stairs up to the top to get a great view on a perfectly beautiful day.

The group who had assembled posed on the stairs to the entrance of the lighthouse, which have new railings that were just put in to match the original design (based on old blueprints, etc) from 1906, with materials donated by Skyline Steel. This was one such renovation recently made to the lighthouse. Among other things, they just replaced 48 tie rods and turnbuckles that were devastated by last year’s Hurricane Irma. They fixed it using a brand new process, said President of the Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society Ken Herman.

The lighthouse is the most powerful continuous public lighthouse in the world, according to Herman. Want to visit the lighthouse? Their next event is on Barefoot Mailman Remembrance Day, Oct. 13. Find out more at www.hillsborolighthouse.org.

By Gary Curreri

Blanche Ely High School senior basketball star Michael Forrest is taking his basketball talents 12 miles north to Boca Raton as he continues his hoops career.

Forrest, who led the Tigers to the state championship, made the announcement that he was headed to play basketball at Florida Atlantic University on his Twitter page and honored his grandmother in the process.

“I would like to thank my grandma for instilling in me the value of life and working hard to achieve my goals. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA,” Forrest wrote on Twitter. “With that being said, I am pleased to announce that I will be continuing my athletic and academic career at Florida Atlantic University. GO OWLS.”

Forrest averaged 26 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals per game for the Tigers and helped Blanche Ely win their 5th state championship in seven seasons as they cruised past Jacksonville Creekside, 77-54, in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class 8A state championship on Saturday night at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

Forrest, who was named the Sun Sentinel’s Player of the Year this season, was also a first-team All-County selection as a junior when he averaged 14 points a game for the regional finalist.

“She’s the one that’s always pushed me to be better,” said Forrest of the inspiration and motivation he was provided from his grandmother. “She said she would rather have me set a high bar and almost make it than set it low and get [there].”

Newly-hired FAU Men’s Basketball coach Dusty May said he was going to make South Florida recruiting a “high priority.”

Forrest also wrote: “I would like to thank GOD for giving me the ability to play the game of basketball. Thank you to all of the schools that have recruited me. I would also like to thank the coaches of Blanche Ely: Mr. Randall, Coach Reg, Coach BJ, Romaine Roshane and Dallas for pushing me and taking my game to the next level.

“Thank you to Coach Sweat and the South Florida Spartans organization for believing in me,” he continued. “Thank you to my No. 1 supporters, my parents, for supporting me through everything.”

Junior lifeguard program gearing up

A little more than a month remains before the Junior Lifeguard program begins this summer.

Nemia L. Schulte, president of the Pompano Beach Junior Lifeguards, said registration for the four summer sessions is ongoing during business hours at the Pompano Aquatic Center.

She said there will be a parents’ meeting to discuss the summer schedule for the 2018 Junior Lifeguard/Grommets Program on Thursday, May 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the Civic Center.

The Junior Lifeguard program will compete on June 30 in the state competition (Ft. Lauderdale), then July 28 at the Regionals (Flagler Beach) and then on Aug. 8 at the Nationals in (Virginia Beach, VA.).

By Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach’s Shannon Snell is doing quite well down underafter competing in the 2018 Queensland Surf Life Saving Senior State Championships in Maroochydore, Australia.

The 20-year-old Snell, a 2016 graduate of Cardinal Gibbons High School, recently placed fifth in the Open Women Beach Flags Final and seventh in the Open Women Beach Sprint despite a tight quad muscle. She was representing the Kurrawa Surf Life Saving Club.

Snell, who represented the U.S.A. Open Team in the DHL International Surf Rescue Challenge in New Zealand that was held from Nov. 30-Dec. 4, extended her stay in Australia to become even more proficient in her lifesaving skills.

“I’m currently in Australia training in the surf-lifesaving sport,” said Snell, who placed second in the sprint and fourth in the surf ski events during the DHL in Mount Monguani, New Zealand.

“Since they are 50 years ahead of the U.S.A., there are actually clubs to train with that you can get the proper technique and training sessions to excel when racing internationally and for the U.S.A. (United States Lifesaving Association) Nationals. I was beyond thrilled to be selected for the U.S.A. team.”

The DHL challenge has been held since 1999 and attracted seven countries from around the world to compete head-to-head in New Zealand for the title of International Surf Rescue Champions. Snell helped the United States finish third in the competition.

Snell has been pleased with her progress so far. In January, she also took second in the Open Beach Sprint Final at Ocean 6 Series and ninth place in Open Women Beach Flags Final in North Cronulla Beach.

“To be able to race with the top athletes in the U.S.A. is always a very humbling feeling and knowing that the work you put in doesn’t go without being noticed,” she said. “I was very pleased too to place as well as I did with coming out of our winter training into everyone’s else’s summer since the seasons are different.

“The goal for Australia is to learn as much knowledge as I can in this sport and take that home with me and become a better athlete,” Snell continued, “and to help the next generation in the states and in Florida to be able to see the sport continue to grow.”

Snell has been an Ocean lifeguard since 2016 on both the east and west coast of the United States, and, prior to that, was a Pompano Beach Junior lifeguard since the age of 9. During that time, she was selected to represent the United States Youth National Team in France in 2014. She also travelled to Japan and Australia the following two years.

Snell earned her fourth invitation to represent her country based on her performance at the United States Lifesaving Association Nationals in Daytona Beach this past summer.

By Gary Curreri

Fittingly, Ryan Szklany is planning to study at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach. With a month to go in the cross country season, he was concerned that the gap between him and the top-ranked Class 1A runner in the state (Trevor Foley) may be a little too large. Szklany was nearly a minute behind Foley’s fastest time of the season.

The Highlands Christian Academy 17-year-old won six meets this year and showed at state that he had tremendous heart as he closed the gap considerably falling by just eight seconds with a personal best 15:55 clocking at the FHSAA Class 2A Cross Country State Championships at Apalachee Regional Park. Foley won the event in 15:47.25.

“It was just a great finish for me,” said Szklany, who trimmed nearly 20 seconds off his previous best time. He will be running this Friday in the FACA Senior All-Star Meet. “The last month of the season I just kept putting in the work and training hard. It was a great way to end my senior year in cross country. I just went all out at the end and it paid off.”

Foley has a best time of 15:20, so Szklany knew he had to stay within striking distance at the state meet. Szklany’s time this season was 16:16.40, which was three seconds off the previous 16:13.0, which he ran in the Foot Locker South event in Nov. 2015.

Foley, who transferred from Nature Coast Tech (Class 2A) to Citrus Park Christian (1A) before last year’s track season, had defeated Szklany earlier this season.

In their lone head-to-head meeting, Foley won the Flrunners.com Invitational 18 Race of Champions Boys Division at Holloway Park in Lakeland on Sept. 30. Foley won the event with a 15:54.64 clocking, while Szklany covered the distance in 16:23.15. Szklany was third in the Jim Ryun Invitational by Fellowship of Christian Athletes (16:35.80).

“This is good for confidence knowing that I could hold down a strategy,” Szklany added. “I was a little disappointed because I didn’t get a PR, but I was able to get my second fastest time of the season and I am happy with that.”

Szklany said he has started to return to the form he was at two years ago when he ran his personal best time of 16:13.00 towards the end of the season and won the district and regional championships.

“I just think the development paid off,” Szklany said. “I think the training caught up a little bit and I starting to transition back into it. It really showed in the end.”

By Gary Curreri

The Pompano Beach Piranhas recently took 11th overall in the Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships at the Academic Village Swimming Pool.

Pompano Beach coach Jesse Vassallo brought 19 swimmers to the three-day meet and scored 449.50 points overall. The men’s team tallied 344.50 to finish 10th in that division, while the women scored 105 points, which was good enough for 17th overall.

“We hoped to do that,” said Vassallo, who cited a Top-12 finish at the meet. The host South Florida Aquatic Club (SOFLO) won the combined team title with 2,748 points. The team also captured the men’s title.

“We are a small team compared to the rest,” Vassallo said. “It adds up to the relays, a point here and a point there. There are three seasons in a year and we came to this meet not rested. We didn’t stop training. We kept training and we came in tired, but we did better that I expected. I had a kid (Tyler Zuyus) win high point without being shaved.”

Zuyus, 16, a junior at Ft. Lauderdale High School, is expecting to be the top swimmer at his school. He is also a Ft. Lauderdale resident.

“Meets like this help me prepare for bigger meets,” said Zuyus. “This is a marking point for where I want to be and where I am at so I know how to train for it. Sometimes we go into it not shaved or tapered and this was one of those times.”

He was pleased with winning the high point award.

“It is really an accomplishment for me to do this,” Zuyus said. “I wasn’t expecting to win the high point. It shows that I am able to do well under all of the pressure. Going back-to-back with all of those races … it is a confidence booster. My high school season was great and it was the first time I place individually. Unfortunately, our relays didn’t do so well. It’s okay. We will get them next year!”

Zuyus was runner-up for the high point award at the Winter Championships. He said he is now looking forward to swimming the summer season.

“I am going to sleep,” said Zuyus, who swam nine total events individually and five relays. “I haven’t slept in a couple days. I was really happy with my 200 back because I dropped two seconds and every other race was close to my personal best time.”

The team’s performance also came off a solid effort at the Junior Olympic competition a couple of weeks earlier.

“At the JOs,” Vassallo said, “we were a very small group. We only brought eight swimmers. Rafael Santos won three events, and Lilia Blanco also swam really well. She is only nine, but she came in third three times and scored in every event she swam in the 10-Under competition.”